From a window (that of Mme Flury Hérard)2 he recounts that
he saw pass by from the opposite direction Mme Fallières in a splendid
carriage3, and the Empress on foot in a long mourning veil,
carrying a bouquet of Parma violets in her hand and grief for the Imperial
Prince in her heart. And then even though it had no relevance to the
situation, Gourgaud puts here two verses of Joséphin Soulary's4
Les Deux cortèges, which he believes are by him, and composed at
that very moment. And he finishes by saying that on the evening of Mme de
Rothschild's cotillion he had worn a buttonhole of Parma violets and
nobody knew why. Mme de Goyne5 said to him: "Your violets - how
original", but he had not wanted to profane his secret. And upon returning
home that evening and as he undressed he "piously" placed his buttonhole
in a vase in front of a photograph of the Empress and forgot all about
replying to an invitation from Comtesse Molitor.
At Mme Barachin's evening Gourgaud's article was found to be
"perfection" and Verdé Delise said that he could do anything he wanted
with his own two hands but sadly that was no way to make a living.
Letter to Reynaldo Hahn, c.1908.
1. Baron Napoléon Gourgaud (1881-1944), great grandson of
Napoleon's companion at Saint Helena. Kolb reads the name as Gaugard.
2. This apparently refers to Mme Paul Flury-Hérard, née Louvières, banker's wife, living at 91, avenue des Champs-Élysées.
3. Mme Armand Fallières, née Besson; Fallières was President of the Republic from February 1906 to January 1913.
4. Joseph-Marie, known as Joséphin Soulary (1815-1891), French poet, author of a famous sonnet called Les Deux cortèges.
5. This no doubt refers to Comtesse de Loynes, née Jeanne Detourbay, lover of Jules Lemaître, whose salon was, in the words of Fernand Gregh, "a factory for academicians". She died in January 1908. The character of Odette perhaps owes something to her.
Created 19.09.19
Updated 19.05.22